- RAYA -
A pile of boxes meets us when Dex opens the door and lets me in.
"I'll carry these to whichever room you want. I just didn't want to choose for you," he says quickly, closing the cottage-like door behind us without shutting out the sunlight. It still streams in on every side, and I realize I'm definitely right about the main house. Because this house has distressed wood beams above and tile floors below, and it feels like we've stepped into another country entirely. I could almost imagine that I'm on vacation here.
"It doesn't matter," I tell him, unable to hide the awe I feel at being in this space. "I'm just grateful to have a place to stay."